Mail-bag fastener



, (No Modl.)

G.A.STRASBURG. MAIL BAG FASTENER.

No. 605,588. Patented June 14, 1898.

199e @Tar gether at their lower ends.

ilNiTED STATES v PATENTV OEETCE.

CHARLES A. STRASBURG, OF CRIDERSLVILLE, OHIO. Y

MAIL-BAG FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 605,588, dated June 14, 1898. Applicationfiiedrovemtert,1897. sentirlo. 657.405. (remodel.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern: d Be it known that I, CHARLES A. STRASBURG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oridersville, in the county of Auglaize and State of Ohio, have invented` a new and useful Mail-Bag Fastener, of which the following'is a specification.

The invention relates to mail-bag fasteners.

The object of the present -invention is to improve the constructiony of.A mail-bag fasteners and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eflcient locking device adapted to be readily applied to mail-bags, valises,'and similar receptacles and designed to obviate the Vnecessity of employing the staples' often used on mail-bag fasteners. The invention improvements in consists in the construction and novel combinationand arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a mail-bag provided with a fastener constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, the mail-bag being locked.'V Fig. 3 is a similar View showing the positionof the locking device when the mail-bag is open.k Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on line 4 4 of Fig. 2.v Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the tumbler. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the key.

.Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings. l

1 and 2 designate sections of a casing designed to be ,secured to a mail-bag 3 at opposite sides of the mouth thereof and provided with depending arms 4, which are hinged to- The section 1, which carries the locking mechanism, is provided at its outer edges with top and side flanges, and the other section 2 is provided at its top with an inwardly-extending flange 5, arranged to enter the section l of the casing at a point adjacent to the topflange thereof and adapted to,be engaged by lugs 6 of a rock-shaft 7, which constitutes a bolt.

The rock-shaft 7, which is journaled at its ends in suitable perforations orother bearings of the side iianges of the section 1, is

.tions for'tlie` reception of the lugs 6. suitable number of lugs may be provided,

Iprovided at one end with a handle S and has the lugs 6 arranged at intervals, the flange 5 being provided with corresponding perfora- Any and they are entirely concealed within the lock-,casing When the mail-bag is closed.

The rock-shaft'or bolt 7 is preferably rectangular in cross-section, and it is engaged by a tumbler 9, which holds the lugs in engagement with the iange of the section 2 of the lock-casing until it is disengaged from the rock-shaft lor bolt by a key 10. The tumbler, which is pivoted at its 'outer end at 11 to the section 1 of the casing, is provided at its inner end with a bifurcated arml", arrangedv at right angles'to the body portion of thev tumbler, straddling the bolt or shaft and engaging theside faces thereof, Vwhereby the same is held against rotation in either direction. -1

The body portion of the tumbleris disposed substantially parallel with the adjacent portion of the bolt or shaft, and the casing-section 1 is provided opposite the space between the tumbler and the bolt or shaft with a keyhole 13, which permits the engaging end of the key to be interposedbetween the tumbler and the shaft or bolt to depress the former against the action ofa spring 14 and to rotate the shaft or bolt for carrying the lugs out of engagement with the section 2 of the casing. The spring is secured at one end to the section 1 of the casing and has its other end free andbeari'ng against the tumbler to hold the same in engagement with the shaft orl bolt.

4The key is provided with a rectangular lug 15 for engaging the tumbler, and it has an oppositely-disposed lug 1t,v which is beveled or tapered and arranged to engage the lower face of the rectangular bolt or shaft adjacent to one edge thereof, whereby when the key is turned the bolt 0r shaft will be partially rotated. The locking of the mail-bag is effected by rotating the shaft or bolt byhand to carry vthe lugsinto engagement with the flange 5 when the sectioirsof the casing are closed7 and the tumbler is adaptedto engage the shaft or .bolt-automatically 'whenthe lugs are brought into engagement with the flange 5.

Instead of making the entire shaft or bolt rectangular only that portion adjacent to the keyhole and the arm of the tumbler may be so constructed, and the width of the shaft or bolt is designed to be greater than its thickness to prevent the arm of the tumbler from engaging it when the lugs are turned down, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the accompanying drawings.

It will be clear that the invention has the following advantages: rIhe locking device is simple, inexpensive, strong, and durable and adapted to be readily applied to inail-bags, valises, and analogous receptacles. The bolt and the engaged portion of the casing are located entirely within the latter and are concealed, and the device dispenses with the staples frequently employed in this class of locks.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim isl. In a device of the class described, the combination ofA a casing composed of two hinged sections, a rotary bolt or shaft journaled in the easing and provided with a lug arranged at an angle to it and adapted to engage the free edges of the sections to lock the same closed, and a spring-actuated tumbler engaging the bolt or shaft and holding the same against rotation in either direction, said tumbler being adapted to be disengaged from the shaft or bolt by a key, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing, a bolt or shaft journaled therein and provided with engaging lugs, said bolt or shaft having a polygonal i portion, and a spring-actuated tumbler provided with a bifureated arm straddling the polygonal portion of the shaft or bolt and locking the same against rotation in either direction, said tumbler being adapted to be engaged by a key, substantiallyas described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a casing having a keyhole, a shaft or bolt journaled in the casing at one side of the keyhole and provided with lugs, said shaft or bolt having a rectangular portion adjacent to the said keyhole, a springactuated tumbler mounted in the casing at the opposite side of the keyhole and provided with an arm engaging the rectangular portion of the shaft or bolt, and a key adapted to be interposed between the tumbler and the shaft or bolt and provided with opposite lugs for engaging the same, one of the lugs beingheveled and arranged to rotate the shaft or bolt, substantially as described.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of a easing composed of two hinged sections, one of the sections being pro vided with a perforated liange, a bolt or shaft journaled on the other section, provided with an exteriorly-arranged handle and having a series of lugs for engaging the perforations of said flange, and a spring-actuated tumbler engaging the shaft or bolt and locking the same against rotation, substantially as described.

In testimony that I elaim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. STRASUURG.

IV itnesses:

CHARLIE Boor, CLARENCE OsENnAUcH. 

